Wounded Marines heal through archery

Wounded Marines heal through archery
August 21, 2012
Jacksonville Daily News
AMANDA WILCOX
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Don Bryan/The Daily News Sgt. Nick Chinn, left, takes aim during the Wounded Warrior Archery Camp held at McIntyre-Parks Recreational Shooting Complex aboard Camp Lejeune, Tuesday.

Archery, Sgt. Stephen Keyes said, helps him put his mind at ease and forget about the injuries that put him in the Wounded Warrior Battalion East in the first place.

“(Archery) makes you quiet your mind — you have that one target, you have that one thing that you’re focused on — it really puts you in the zone,” he said.

Keyes was among the Marines from the Wounded Warrior Regiment who had the opportunity to practice archery at the new range on Camp Lejeune Tuesday, thanks to an archery camp hosted by the Wounded Warrior Regiment.

Amputees and disabled Marines, as well as those with less visible injuries, were gathered at the new range off Holcomb Blvd. Tuesday, where they were greeted by Wounded Warrior Battalion East Lt. Col. Nicholas E. Davis for the start of their week-long archery camp.

“It’s a great opportunity for them to do something different,” said Kerri Rogers, the officer in charge for the camp. “This builds camaraderie for them and it gets them outside of their (daily routines).”

More than 30 Marines from Wounded Warrior Battalion East, headquartered at Camp Lejeune, and Wounded Warrior Battalion West, headquartered at Camp Pendleton, were given coaches and instructed based on their archery level.
read more here